PDT Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• PDT Partners LLC recently acquired 45,712 shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc. for approximately $1.34 million, bringing its ownership stake to about 0.07% as of the end of the first quarter.
• The company reported $0.11 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $753.15 million, although it saw a year-over-year decline of 1%.
• Werner Enterprises announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share and initiated a share repurchase plan allowing for the buyback of up to 5 million shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.

PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 45,712 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,339,000. PDT Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Werner Enterprises at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1.8% in the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 22,516 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 15.9% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 3.0% in the first quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 14,528 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 69.7% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,176 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 1.6% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 33,848 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. 89.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WERN. Baird R W raised shares of Werner Enterprises to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Werner Enterprises in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $30.50.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ WERN opened at $28.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.22 and a 200 day moving average of $28.52. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.02 and a 1 year high of $42.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $753.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.09 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 0.92%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, October 6th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 6th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Werner Enterprises's payout ratio is currently 65.12%.

Werner Enterprises declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to buyback 5,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in transporting truckload shipments of general commodities in interstate and intrastate commerce in the United States, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Truckload Transportation Services and Werner Logistics.

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